Football & travel for the big tournaments: World Cup, European Championships, African Cup of Nations, Confederations Cup

Bert Trautmann's incredible life story is covered in the book Trautmann's Journey: From Hitler Youth to FA Cup Legend by Catrine Clay (published by Yellow Jersey Press). The book can be purchased through Amazon, costing £16.99. One lucky Soccerphile reader can win a copy of the book, signed by the author, by answering this question. Bert Trautmann broke which part of his anatomy in the 1956 FA Cup Final? a) Foot b) Neck c) Ankle Contact us to email your answer with the title "Trautmann" as the subject of the email Read more about Bert Trautmann in his own words Tags Bert Trautmann Manchester City

Sunday 29 August Gamba Osaka 2 Jubilo Iwata 0 Shimizu S-Pulse 2 Kawasaki Frontale 0 Yokohama F Marinos 3 Albirex Niigata 0 Saturday 28 August Urawa Reds 1 Kashima Antlers 1 Cerezo Osaka 2 Omiya Ardija 0 Vegalta Sendai 2 Shonan Bellmare 1 Nagoya Grampus 1 Kyoto Sanga 0 Vissel Kobe 0 FC Tokyo 0 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2 Montedio Yamagata 1 J.League Table Nagoya Grampus P 21 Pts 44 Cerezo Osaka P 21 Pts 39 Shimizu S-Pulse P 21 Pts 39 Kashima Antlers P 21 Pts 37 Kawasaki Frontale P 21 Pts 35 Gamba Osaka P 21 Pts 34 Leading Scorers Josh Kennedy, Nagoya Grampus 11 Edmilson, Urawa Reds 10 Cho Young Cheol, Albirex Niigata 10 Shinji Okazaki, Shimizu S-Pulse 10 Shoki Hirai, Gamba Osaka 10 Previous Results J.League News Tags J-League Results

Champions League holders Inter will face debutants Tottenham Hotspur in this season's competition. Former Inter coach Jose Mourinho is now in charge at Real Madrid and the Spanish giants face AC Milan, Ajax, and Auxerre in what should be an easy group for Jose's team. In Group C, Manchester United face Scottish champions Rangers in what could be a security nightmare for police and in Group E last year's beaten finalists Bayern face AS Roma, Basel, and Romanian side CFR Cluj. Group A Inter Milan, Werder Bremen, Tottenham Hotspur, FC Twente Group B Lyon, Benfica, Schalke, Hapoel Tel-Aviv Group C Manchester United, Valencia, Rangers, Bursaspor Group D Barcelona, Panathinaikos, FC Copenhagen, Rubin Kazan Group E Bayern Munich, AS Roma, Basel, CFR Cluj Group F Chelsea, Marseille, Spartak Moscow, Zilina Group G AC Milan, Real Madrid, Ajax, Auxerre Group H Arsenal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga, Partizan Belgrade Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Champions League football

HELLO! It’s Good to be Back! Get Behind ‘em! A certain ex-pop star was delighted with Spurs’ Champion’s League draw but commented that he thought Harry’s men failed to get on top in Tuesday’s clash and must get into their opposition more in the second leg. “Get behind them!” He insisted. It’s the third leg I’d be worried about if I was a Young Boy. Anyway, this certain observer says he’s fed up with the police and the media giving him a hard time since he came home from Thailand. He says he just wants everyone to leave him alone so he can settle down and have kids. Anyway, what of Spurs’ chances in the Premier league this time? Having qualified for the lucrative Champion’s League last season, Tottenham fans are anticipating going one better this time. Did they see the lacklustre opening against Manchester City last weekend? Never mind their poor attempt to handle the young boys on Tuesday night. Spurs are around 5/2 to repeat last season’s accolade (finish top 4) and I wouldn’t touch that with someone else’s. It’s a terrible price, which is what Crouchy said when he was quoted £800 for a Spanish hooker. As for Saturday, it’s a tough trip to the Britannia to face Stoke and again there’s no value in Spurs at evens . The draw, however, is very tempting at 11/5. Get on. Man City v Liverpool Liverpool are handily priced at around 13/8 on Betfair to finish in the top 4 this season which I feel is great value as they now have a capable manager and have kept their good players. So too have Arsenal, who are heavy odds on for top 4 and 6/1 to win it. Liverpool are 14/1 to take the title. I won’t be taking any of these but the Northerners are marginally better value. As for this coming weekend, Liverpool follow up their tough start to the season with a trip down the road to Manchester to face the wealthy City. Liverpool are nicely priced at 7/4; City are 5/4 and the draw is 11/5. Get on Liverpool to exploit City’s defence. Gooners As for the Gooners, an appealing home time with the Blackpool rockers. Let’s hope Marlon Harewood and Gareth Taylor-Fletcher have stopped rocking in celebration of their mauling of Wigan last week to put in some training for what will be an altogether different proposition. I can see a reversal of their opening day score-line; sorry, Seasiders. Arsenal will win comfortably at 1/7. The punters/bookies of Betfair are still offering 5/2 about Blackpool surviving...wait, before you North-Westerners pile in, wait until after they are hammered by Arsenal: the price is sure to drift like a Blackpool barge in a thunderstorm; they’ll be 3/1 by Monday. Mardy Martin O’Neil The early game on Sunday sees Aston Villa travel to the toon to play the new Geordie boys. Villa are almost 3/1 to finish in the top 6 this season which is wonderful value for the team that finished sixth last season...and the season before...and the season before that. Surely they should be odds on? Of course, Martin O’Neil has done one like the proverbial mardy bum, which actually means that Villa will be better and some of their squad may actually have the opportunity to play. Newcastle will have their work cut out on Saturday which makes the 8/5 about them winning a fair price. Villa will win this one, though, at 11/8. Newcastle are 7/2 to get relegated on Betfair which is rather tempting... Super Sunday Super Sunday pitches Fulham against Manchester United at the cottage. Now, I fully expect United to mount a decent title challenge this season, but I also expect Fulham to push towards the top half of the table and to do so they will need tiptop performances against teams like these. Get on Fulham at 4/1 to spring a shock on Sunday. Further, take a gander at 14/1 against Fulham finishing in the top 6 – it’s rather tempting, isn’t it? Baggies and Black Cats One of the closest encounters on Saturday will be West Brom against Sunderland. The baggies will bounce back from their trouncing by the champions last week. Get on West Brom to bag some black cats at 6/4. Respect to the Champions As for the champions, to Wigan they head. Watch out Latics, the Blues have been rampant of late and John Terry, Ashley Cole et al have started treating the opposition as they treat their women: decidedly disrespectfully; 2/9’s a terrible price but the Blues are certainties. Blowing Bubbles Last and probably least it’s Wham against Bolton. George Michael enjoys blowing bubbles and the fans will join him on Saturday as the Hammers (Evens) pick up their first points this season. George, however, has 12 on his licence already... Wager of the weekend West Brom to beat Sunderland at 6/4; Stoke/Spurs draw @ 11/5; Liverpool to win at Man City @ 7/4. This treble pays around 21/1 at Ladbrokes. If you add Fulham at 4/1 to the above selections, you’ll be looking at £1100 back for your tenner. Season tempters Liverpool to finish in the top 4: 13/8 Villa to finish in the top 6 AGAIN: 3/1 Newcastle to be relegated: 7/2 (All prices on Betfair) If you can convince a bookie to give you all of the above as a treble, you’ll be looking at over 40/1. Now, that is tempting! Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters football betting

Went to see my hometown team Stockport County take on Wycombe Wanderers in their League 2 home opener at Edgeley Park . Relegated last season after going into financial meltdown, County look to have a battle on their hands to stabilize this season, but should have taken the three points against an equally poor Wycombe outfit. Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Stockport County Wycombe Wanderers

Celebrities including Ian Wright and Alice Cooper talk about their hopes for the next football season. The Sun has spoken to a host of celebrities, including a few you would not usually expect to hear from, about their hopes for the upcoming football season. In this time of great expectations and excitement The Sun want people to visit their Facebook page  www.facebook.com/thesunfootball and tell everyone who you support and what your hope is for the next season.

The verdicts on the 'Gang of Five' who destroyed the harmony of the French camp at the World Cup were announced just like any criminal trial's results, complete with mugshots of the offenders. Nicolas Anelka , the instigator of the pathetic rebellion with his foul-mouthed attack on coach Raymond Domenech , got an 18-game ban from the national team, Patrice Evra got five for failing in his captain's duties, Franck 'underage' Ribery got three as the ironically named vice-captain and Jeremy Toulalan must sit out one match me for penning the excruciating players' statement which the hapless Raymond Domenech read out to the press, willingly or not. Anelka predictably laughed off the ban but is unlikely to wear bleu again, while the reaction from the French players' union, which blamed Domenech instead of the boorish players, showed it is not just England's PFA who stand up for overpaid yobs in public. In view of the damage done to the national team, the hopes of millions of Frenchmen and women back home and their sense of self-pride, let alone the image of the country across the world, the punishments handed out were mild in the extreme. Never before have I heard people telling me they were ashamed to be French. *** The Spanish press, well Marca and AS that is, are agog over Mesut Ozil 's arrival at Real Madrid. What struck me was how meagre the fee was in the end for one of the world's most talented youngsters, who had an impressive first World Cup finals. At £12 million, Real have themselves a bargain, especially considering Manchester City have just shelled out more than twice that for the prosaic James Milner. More proof that the Premier League still plays second fiddle to La Primera when it comes to bagging the top stars, and how England shoots itself in the foot, complaining about the lack of opportunity for its youngsters while hugely over-valuing the ones that do get the chance. And what about Tottenham's exodus in the Champions League? 3-0 down after half an hour to a Swiss team lacking any star names; are English teams over-hyped as well as over-paid? ** FIFA's inspection team are currently being wowed in Russia by Vladimir Putin and others. Russia looked a dark horse at the start of the bidding race for the 2018 World Cup but seems to grow stronger all the time. That said, oligarch billions may not be enough to allay fears among the Executive Committee of the risks of 13 new stadia, long distances between venues and the permanent whiff of corruption that Russia brings. England still appears the safest pair of hands after the worries of South Africa and Brazil, but this race will go down to the wire, with second preference votes crucial for victory. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters World Cup football

Tuesday 17 August Albirex Niigata 4 Shimizu S-Pulse 1 Gamba Osaka 1, Kashima Antlers 1 Urawa Reds 1 Vegalta Sendai 1 Yokohama F Marinos 0 Montedio Yamagata 1 Playing Wednesday August 18 Kawasaki Frontale v Nagoya Grampus Shonan Bellmare v Kyoto Sanga Jubilo Iwata v Vissel Kobe Cerezo Osaka v FC Tokyo Sanfrecce Hiroshima v Omiya Ardija J.League Table Nagoya Grampus P 18 Pts 38 Kashima Antlers P 19 Pts 36 Shimizu S-Pulse P 19 Pts 36 Kawasaki Frontale P 18 Pts 32 Gamba Osaka P 19 Pts 31 Albirex Niigata P 19 Pts 31 Leading Scorers Josh Kennedy, Nagoya Grampus 10 Shoki Hirai, Gamba Osaka 10 Previous Results J.League News Tags J-League Results

Korean football fans have a two-tier season. Not only does the K-League run from the end of February to the beginning of December, the European season and the overseas Taeguk Warriors, just recovered from the World Cup, are just getting started. The best-known of these is, of course, Park Ji-sung. When he signed for Manchester United back in July 2005, few would have expected that he would be embarking on a sixth season at one of the world’s biggest clubs. This campaign promises to be one of the most open seasons in the English Premier League for years with the usual suspects such as United, Chelsea and Arsenal battling for the top prize with big spenders Manchester City adding an interesting extra element. Park enjoyed a very good World Cup in South Africa and can expect to enjoy a fair amount of playing time over the next few months. The 29 year-old played a big part in the second half of the season last time round as United finished second behind Chelsea but struggled in the first half due to injuries sustained while in action for the national team. So the sight last Wednesday of Park sitting on the bench in the second half of South Korea’s friendly match against Nigeria with ice strapped around his knee would have been a worry for fans of the Red Devils but Park is fit and raring to go, though he sat out the team's 3-0 opening match win over Newcastle United on Monday night. Interest is always high in Park’s exploits with the 18-time English champions, now looking for a record 19th title, but many eyes will also be fixed just a few miles north of Manchester to see how Lee Chung-yong performs with Bolton Wanderers. The winger joined the club in the summer of 2009 and immediately impressed. He was one of Bolton’s best players and contributed with five goals and a number of assists. What was more impressive is that Lee, still just 22, arrived at the start of the English season after over six months of football in Korea. The recent rest he had after the 2010 World Cup was his first break since the end of 2008. And after a good performance in South Africa, he is ready for another good season. I had the chance recently to have to talk to Park Ji-sung at the National Football Center in Paju and he was fulsome in praise for his young national team colleague. “He showed last season unbelievably well in the Premier League with Bolton,” said Park. “And then with the national team as well. He is a player who is getting bigger in the national team as well. So, hopefully, he will get more experience and he can take my place. “He is very talented. He has good skills, a good mentality and is good physically, he may not be physically strong yet but he can learn all that. He is smart and, hopefully, can continue growing in this way to become the best player in our country.” The Seoul media is also a fan of Lee but is concerned that he may fall victim to second season syndrome as he is no longer an unknown quantity. That remains to be seen though Lee himself recently admitted that he was taken aback at just how well his first season in England went. “At first I was worried because it was my first time playing in a European league. But I was so surprised that everyone was welcoming, my team-mates and the fans," said Lee. "My ambition was to play as many games as I could. Now I have done that, I am proud of what I have achieved. The pressure was not on me as there was no expectation as I was unknown here. I like a quiet life so living in England suits me as player." North of the border, two World Cup stars play for Scottish giants Celtic. Ki Sung-yong arrived in Glasgow in January. The 21 year-old didn’t get much playing time but that looks likely to change this time around as he has been active in midfield in the club’s pre-season. He has been joined at Parkhead by right-back Cha Du-ri. The remaining veteran of South Africa playing in Europe is Park Chu-young. The striker, just turned 25, impressed at the World Cup after two good seasons in France with AS Monaco. He could be on the move before the August 31 deadline. Moves to England are still rumoured but not with the same intensity of a month ago. Still, in football, you never quite know what will happen and that is the beauty of the game as will be demonstrated once more over the coming months –both in Europe and Korea. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters World Cup football

As if FIFA were not in enough hot water already over goal-line incidents. In an interview with Germany's Focus magazine , President Sepp Blatter made an extraordinary admission that football's governing body was considering abolishing draws and extra-time in World Cup finals matches. According to Blatter's admission, penalty shoot-outs could replace ties in the group games, while, mirabile dictu, the ' golden goal ' could make a return to the knock-out stages in order to spice up extra-time before another shoot-out, if necessary. What has prompted this sudden revelation of another p otential volte-face, following FIFA's u-turn on technology last week? Blatter is presumably reacting to the meagre 2.27 goals-per-game average from the 2010 World Cup , the second-lowest on record, narrowly beating Italia '90's 2.21 haul. The opening round of two games per group yielded only 1.6 goals on average, with nothing beyond Germany's 4-0 trouncing of Australia to write home about. The tournament was dull in footballing terms, with the exception of Germany's brief but fantastic foray to the semi-finals, which yielded a rich harvest of breakaway goals and sent the lumbering old battleships of England and Argentina spiraling to the bottom with aplomb. But a resoundingly negative final littered with b ookings, gamesmanship and brutal tackles put an unhappy seal on what should have been a carnival of football. At the climax of Sepp's big show, the watching world was left unhappy and even the winners Spain took their crown having netted fewer times (eight in seven games) than any previous champions. Blatter felt responsible. South Africa after all was the President's baby from the moment he first garnered African votes to win the top job in football with the promise of a World Cup hosting in return. Perhaps he is over-reacting to the bad impression the finals lef t on the field, or indeed looking to be a pro-active president as a re-election looms in 2011, although his throne looks safe. With UEFA increasingly strutting its stuff and steaming ahead with its own innovations such as the extra linesmen, FIFA does not want to be seen to be an ostrich with its head in the sand, and while it is reassuring that they are ope n to change and eager to improve the aesthetic experience of top-level soccer, this latest shock still begs two questions - if it ain't broke, why fix it and if it is broken, what can we do? We can all agree on the need for more attacking and entertaining football, though we surely do not want as much scoring as in basketball. Yet short of increasing the size of the goals to gargantuan proportions or reducing the number of players per side, can anything realistically be changed ? Is doing away with extra-time going to increase the amount of attacking play over 90 minutes? And will teams determined to play for spot-kicks anyway not welcome a half-hour less in which to have to run around? This has been tried before of course in many competitions. Abolishing draws in the NASL and later, MLS, was resoundingly unpopular with fans, players and coaches. Replacing the award of a hard-earned point with the lottery of penalties le ft honest teams unpaid for having clawed back a deficit, and superior sides equally penniless for having failed to break down a stubborn defence only to lose on spot-kicks. So it seems unthinkable that if American fans succeeded in binning the shoot-out after four miserable seasons, FIFA is all set to re-introduce it at the highest level. 'Golden goal' was another aberration best confined to the annals of past mistakes we have learnt from. Introduced as a compromised response to the dissatisfaction with the penalty shoot-outs of the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, golden goal, where the first goal in extra-time wins, debuted in Euro '96, when Oliver Bierhoff's 95th minute strike handed the trophy to Germany. Laurent Blanc sent France through to the last eight of the 1998 World Cup with a golden goal in Lens, while at Euro 2000 the French were again the beneficiaries with a Zinedine Zidane penalty in the semi-final and a David Trezeguet winner in the final. Three years later on home soil, Thierry Henry bagged another golden goal to win the Confederations Cup. The evidence of golden goal improving the contest as a whole was inconclusive. In fact, the spectacles of both the Euro '96 and Euro 2000 finals seemed to have been terminated prematurely by the rule, when it was the maximizing of entertainment which had lain behind its imposition in the first place. Its penultimate hurrah came in the 2002 World Cup, when Senegal and South Korea advanced to the last eight and Turkey to the last four on golden goals. When it was quietly abolished by FIFA's International Board (IFAB) in 2004, there were few mourners and since then there has been no clamour whatsoever to revive it. Nor has UEFA's short-lived silver goal of Euro 2004 (whoever leads after 15 minutes of extra-time wins) been sorely missed by anyone. No, if improving the spectacle is the aim, an already-failed experiment is not the means again. Blatter must be feeling the strain of South Africa to have plucked this comedy rabbit out of the hat so soon after the finals. Some time in the Swiss Alps or some R&R beside Lake Zurich might be just the ticket in order for him to regain his composure. As a German journalist immortally commented to Brian Glanville - "That man (Blatter) has 50 ideas a day, and 51 of them are bad." (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters World Cup football